Sunny Side Up
by scriptblossom
Summary: All Itachi ever wanted to do for his niece was make her the best sunny side up eggs she ever had.
1. Eggs

**Sunny Side Up**  
by Diana-san

**Author's Note:** Just a fun one-shot inspired by the OVA called "Sunny Side Up Battle" featuring yours truly, Itachi! You should all go watch it because it's super funny.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto.

* * *

**Sunny Side Up**

Sarada peered up at her uncle as she tugged on the fabric of his robe. Her eyes glittered with excitement as she removed one hand from behind her back and produced a white egg.

"Egg," she said simply, but there was a strong insistence in her voice as if this egg was the only egg in the world.

Uchiha Itachi stared down at his niece as he bent down to her eye level. "Very well. I shall make you the best sunny side up eggs you have ever feasted your eyes on."

"Egg!" she said again, this time with a bright smile on her face.

Itachi plucked the egg from Sarada's small grasp and walked over to the kitchen where he placed the egg down on the countertop. Sarada followed after him on her short toddler legs as she climbed onto a kitchen chair to get a better view.

He grabbed an apron hanging from a kitchen hook as he calmly tied it around his large cloak. He lifted the bottom of the apron as he stared at the pink color. The bottom was bedazzled with sequins and glitter that he could only assume was the work of Sarada.

He turned on the stove as he placed a medium-sized pan on top. He waited patiently as the pan heated up before drizzling oil in the center. As the oil heated and made a slight popping noise, he took the egg and cracked it against the side of the pan before letting the yolk fall gently to the center of the pan. The yolk and egg white made contact with the oil and it sizzled in a way that pleased Itachi greatly.

Sarada, in the meantime, had somehow dragged a kitchen chair across the room and climbed up to watch her uncle cook. Itachi smiled as he patted Sarada's soft wisps of black hair. She was only two yet her eyes were wide with curiosity as if she was studying the art of cooking eggs. Itachi could swear he could see the gears in Sarada's mind turning as her onyx black eyes dart back and forth from the pan to the countertop.

A couple seconds passed and Itachi swiftly picked up the salt as he sprinkled a dash of salt on top of the egg yolk followed by the pepper. With a small cup of water, he poured it on the side of the pan and quickly covered the pan with the lid.

After waiting a minute, he removed the lid and smiled proudly.

His eyes widened when he noticed that there was a piece of egg shell left in the yolk.

"Unforgivable," he murmured. "Sorry Sarada-chan, I will make you another egg."

Sarada only tilted her egg to the side as she watched her uncle go to the refrigerator to take out a carton of eggs. He opened it to find eleven eggs in place.

"Very well, we have eleven opportunities for success."

Itachi quickly washed the pan as he prepared it for the second attempt at sunny side up eggs. "Heat the pan up and add oil. It's perfect up until there…" he murmured to himself.

Sarada smiled as she watched Itachi pick up an egg from the carton. "Again!" she cried out gleefully as she clapped her hands together.

Itachi stared at the pan as the oil heated up. Quickly, he cracked the egg into it and watched as the yolk fall down to the pan. The tomoe in his Sharingan swirled as he picked up his kunai. Quickly, he removed the pieces of egg shell stuck in the egg white just before the egg white settled to the bottom of the pan by the yolk.

After adding salt and pepper, he poured in some water before closing the pan with the lid. He drummed his fingers on top of the lid as he waited. As he opened the lid, a dark shadow crossed his face. The egg yolk had broken and was leaking out and spilling onto the egg white.

Itachi gritted his teeth. Sarada only smiled and laughed happily as she tugged on Itachi's pink apron.

"Again!" he declared.

* * *

Sakura opened the door as she stepped inside her home. Quickly, she removed her shoes as she called out for Sarada. "Mama is home!" Sakura called out as she set down a bag of groceries on the table in the hallway. Sarada ran out from the kitchen and into her mama's arms. Sakura smiled as she picked Sarada up and carried her into the kitchen.

"Itachi-san, how was taking care of Sarada?" she said as she tickled Sarada's nose with her finger.

"Sakura-san, I have failed."

Sakura looked up to see Itachi standing in front of the stove with a dejected look on his face. She gasped as she saw that the kitchen table was covered with plates among plates of sunny side up eggs.

"W-what happened in here?" Sakura asked, fearing for the answer to her question.

"I ran out of eggs," Itachi responded dully.

"I bought more on the way home from the hospital. I was going to hard boil them for Sasuke-kun's mission tomorrow."

Itachi's eyes darted to Sakura. "Where are they?" he demanded to know.

"I-in the hallway," Sakura gulped. Itachi's gaze was almost deadly. Sarada smiled as she played with her mama's hair.

An hour later, Sakura sat in the kitchen with Sarada as the two watched Itachi cracked the last egg from the new carton of eggs that Sakura had just bought. Sakura looked worriedly down at her daughter as she bounced her up and down on her legs. Sarada seemed to pay no attention to the never-ending pile of plates strewn across the dinner table as she clapped her hands to each bounce on her mama's lap.

"Perfect."

Sakura glanced up as Itachi smiled and placed a plate down in front of the two. The sunny side up egg stared back at Sakura as Itachi drizzled soy sauce lightly on top of the yolk to draw out the Uchiha crest. He handed a fork to Sakura as he used another fork to feed Sarada.

Sarada happily opened her mouth as she ate the piece of egg hanging from the bottom of the fork.

"Is it delicious, Sarada-chan?" Itachi asked anxiously.

Sarada clapped as Sakura took a small bite of the egg. "It's delicious, Itachi-san!" Sakura exclaimed.

Itachi nodded but his eyes were focused on his niece as he waited for an answer from her. Sarada waved her hands as she made grabbing motions at the plate. "Egg!" she demanded.

With a sigh of relief, Itachi handed the fork to Sakura to continue feeding Sarada.

"I'm home," a voice called out from the front door. The three looked up to see Sasuke walked through the kitchen door with a bag of groceries in his hand.

"Do we really need three carton of eggs?" Sasuke asked as he entered the kitchen. Three pair of eyes stared back at him.

Sakura made a shushing noise with her mouth as she quickly placed a finger to her lips in a frantic gesture towards Sasuke. Her eyes darted over to Itachi.

"Papa!" Sarada shouted in joy.

Itachi smiled happily as he went over to take the bag of groceries from Sasuke. "Do you care for some eggs, little brother?" he asked.

Sasuke glanced at the kitchen table only to find the top of the table completely hidden underneath all the plates of eggs. Sasuke sighed. "Again with the eggs?"

He sat down beside Sakura as he took his daughter in his arms.

Itachi walked over to the kitchen counter and set down the bag of groceries. "Sarada-chan appreciates my eggs," he murmured.

"I shall make more!"

Sakura and Sasuke glanced at each other. Sasuke sat up as he carried Sarada out of the kitchen. "I'm going to give her a bath."

Sakura ran after her husband. "W-wait, what do you want to bring with you for your mission tomorrow?"

"Anything but eggs."

Sakura tried to stifle a giggle as she nodded. "I'll try to clean up the mess in the kitchen before Itachi gets carried away with the rest of the eggs."

"At this rate, just call Naruto and his family over. I think we have enough eggs on the table to feed Naruto alone."

Itachi came running out of the kitchen. "We're out of cooking oil!" he exclaimed. He removed the apron as he handed it to Sakura and went to the door. "I'll run to the store to pick up a bottle for you. As well as some more salt, pepper, and soy sauce. Just in case," Itachi said as he left the front door.

Sasuke glanced over at Sakura. "Lock the door before he can return."


	2. Onions

**Sunny Side Up**  
by Diana-san

**Author's Note:** This randomly came to me because after Itachi and eggs, what if Itachi faced onions? Any excuse to just write a story about him and Sarada cooking in the kitchen.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto but if I did, Itachi would magically be alive for his misadventures with Sarada-chan.

* * *

**02\. Onions**

Itachi doesn't cry. Okay, that was a lie. He cried the night of the clan's massacre when he stood behind his parents and heard his father's last words to him. He cried when he watched his little brother throw his kunai at him. He may or may not have cried when Kisame saw him standing in the rain.

Those were the only two times he can recall crying.

Except today. Today was a challenge.

Sarada walked up to him as she crawled onto a stool so that she was tall enough to see over the counter. "What are you doing, uncle Itachi?" she asked.

Itachi smiled as he placed the knife in his hand down on the cutting board. "Making you lunch, Sarada-chan."

"What are you making?"

She was four yet she had so many questions.

"Onion okonomiyaki," he responded as he returned to the cutting board.

"Why are you crying?" Sarada asked as she glanced up at her uncle. She was concerned. People only cry when they were sad. Sometimes they cry if they are happy. But usually that was when they were overly happy. Sarada didn't understand why people cry when they're happy but she just took her mother's words for it.

When she looked at her uncle, he looked neither sad nor happy. He never showed much change in his expressions and it made it harder for her to figure out what he was thinking most of the time. He was a lot similar to her father with their apathetic expressions. But at least, when her papa was around her mama, she could see a lot of different expressions on papa's face.

Sarada stared intently at Itachi. However, her uncle did show expressions often when he was around her. Sometimes, when he was around papa as well. She watched as her uncle furrow his eyebrows together and clench his jaw.

"I'm not crying, Sarada-chan," he insisted.

"Yes you are."

Itachi sighed as he placed the knife back down on the board and went on to wipe his face with the sleeve of his cloak.

"It's sweat, Sarada-chan," he explained.

"Why are your eyes sweating?"

"The onions…" he muttered.

"Do onions make you cry?" Sarada asked as she stared at the onions.

"Yes, they are dangerous," he murmured as he opened a few cabinets.

"What are you looking for?"

"Goggles. I think your mother left a pair in the kitchen somewhere."

Sarada climbed off the stool as she went over to a kitchen drawer and pulled out a pair of goggles. "Boruto left them here the other day. He said it belonged to his daddy."

Itachi took the goggles from Sarada and placed them over his head as he adjusted the frames of the goggles so that it rested comfortably on top of his nose.

"This shall do," he said as he walked back to the cutting board.

"Wait!" Sarada cried out as she ran out of the kitchen and disappeared for a good few minutes before returning to the kitchen. In her hands was a pair of red-framed glasses.

"Sarada, aren't those your mama's reading glasses?"

Sarada placed them on. "No, mama got me a matching pair so I can look as smart as her."

"Ah, so the lens aren't real."

Sarada smiled as she climbed back onto the stool. "Now we can battle the onions together."

Itachi chuckled as he picked the knife back up. "Time to show these onions what we are made of."

* * *

"We're back from our mission," Sasuke called out as he entered the house. He and Sakura had a morning mission to deliver some documents to a neighboring country and had just returned in time for lunch.

"Sasuke-kun, the house smells heavenly!" Sakura remarked as she took off her shoes.

"At least he didn't burn the house down," Sasuke replied. He could only imagine how intense his brother can get when it comes to cooking and making the perfect meal.

Sakura giggled. "You almost burned the house last time when you tried to use your fire release on the fish."

"Noted. I'll use it outside next time," he replied.

The two of them entered the kitchen to smell the sizzling of onions on the pan.

"What the…" Sasuke began as he saw the two. His precious daughter was wearing glasses he had never recalled buying for her and his brother was wearing a ridiculous looking pair of goggles.

"Ah, you're home," Itachi remarked as he threw in more chopped onions to the pan.

"Papa! Mama!" Sarada cried out as she hopped off the stool and ran into her daddy's arms.

"Why are you dressed like Naruto when he was 12?" Sasuke asked.

"These are Boruto's," Itachi responded.

"They used to belong to Naruto," Sakura replied with a smile.

"The onions were getting to my eyes," Itachi stated as he looked back down at the pan.

"Sarada, when did you get glasses?" Sasuke asked as he reached out to grab the glasses from his daughter's small frame.

"Don't!" Sarada exclaimed as her hands flew up to securely hold the glasses in place. "I want to match uncle's goggles! We're onion fighters!"

Sasuke pulled his hand away with an incredulous look on his face. "Okay, Sara-chan," he murmured.

"I think you look beautiful in them," Sakura said as she took Sarada from Sasuke's arms.

"Sorry mama! We can match next time!"

Sakura smiled. "How about tonight for bedtime?"

Sasuke gave a small pout. "What about me?"

Sarada giggled. "You can wear Dino-san's eye-patch," she said as she waved over to a small, green dinosaur sitting on top of the kitchen table. Sasuke had passed down his old toy to Sarada only to watch it be dressed with various outfits over the months, such as an eye-patch and a small, pink frilly apron.

He took off the eye-patch that was draped over the dinosaur's left eye as he placed it on.

Sarada clapped gleefully as she touched her father's cheek. "Now we can play pirates!"

Itachi hummed as he turned over to the family of three. "Do pirates like onions?"


	3. Fish

**Sunny Side Up  
**by Diana-san

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto.

* * *

**03\. Fish**

"Let's go fishing, Sasuke."

Sasuke glanced up from his afternoon playdate with Sarada. He had the day off from missions and was lounging in the backyard with Sarada climbing over him as he took a nap. Itachi had somehow wandered inside his house and was now sitting on the bench that accompanied the picnic table.

"Nii-san, do you always just come and go as you please?" Sasuke asked as he closed his eyes again.

"Fishing, Sasuke. By the lake," Itachi repeated.

Sasuke sighed. His brother was going to continue to insist on fishing until he got up. "Sakura's working at the hospital. She won't be home until later. I have to watch Sarada."

"Of course Sarada should come with us," Itachi said.

Sasuke sighed again. The excuse to watch Sarada was not working.

"Sara-chan, do you like fishies?" Itachi asked as he walked over to pick up his niece.

Sarada smiled as she clapped her hands. "Wait, I have to change into my outfit!"

Itachi smiled. At age four, Sarada had about a hundred different outfits. Many of them were designed by Sakura and Ino. Sakura had told him that Ino created a bunch of outfits for Sarada since she didn't have a daughter to dress up. Itachi was only pleased to help add on to the collection by buying new outfits each time he visited.

"Which outfit this time?" he asked.

"My fishing outfit, of course!" Sarada exclaimed as she hopped out of Itachi's arms and ran back into the house.

Sasuke sat up. "Have you even fished before nii-san?"

Itachi stood up. "No."

Sarada ran out ten minutes later, dressed in a green long-sleeve shirt paired with a khaki vest and pants. She was carrying a small toy fishing pole that had a magnet on one end with a fake magnetic fish attached. "I'm ready!" she declared.

Itachi smiled. "You look very cute Sara-chan."

"Oh wait, my boots and hat!" Sarada ran back inside to fetch the rest of her outfit.

The two of them walked to the lake with Itachi carrying Sarada on top of his shoulders. Sasuke grumbled as he ended up carrying the equipment for fishing which included the two fishing poles and the bait box.

As the brothers sat side by side on the edge of the dock with their two lines, Sarada ran around behind them with a small blue bucket as she collected pebbles.

"This is nice, Sasuke," Itachi commented with a smile.

"Ah," Sasuke replied as he smiled in return.

They were quiet for a few minutes as the afternoon sun shone brightly above them.

"So do we just wait?" Itachi asked as he broke the silence.

"Yes," Sasuke murmured.

"This isn't as fun as I thought it would be."

Sasuke turned to look at his brother with a look of disbelief. "What did you expect? It's fishing."

"I thought it would have been more exciting than this," Itachi murmured.

"Didn't you fish before with Kisame?"

"He only looks like a fish. He doesn't fish."

Sasuke tried to contain his laughter as he pictured the image of Kisame fishing. Sarada ran up to the spot between the two men as she sat down with her blue bucket.

"What do you have there, Sara-chan?" Itachi asked.

Sarada smiled. "Rocks!" she claimed excitedly.

Itachi smiled. "Ah, that's wonderful." He glanced down at his fishing line as he noticed a few bubbles on the surface. "Oh, it looks like I might have a catch soon," he turned to Sasuke.

Sarada grinned as she stood up with the bucket. "Rocks go boom!" she cried out as she tossed her bucket out towards the lake. All the pebbles she had collected inside flew out of the bucket as it plopped down into the lake, causing a disturbance to the tranquility of the lake.

"Sarada!" Sasuke exclaimed as he jumped up to catch Sarada before she ended up falling into the lake.

Itachi pulled back the end of his line and saw that the bait at the end of his hook was gone and there was no fish attached.

He tossed down the fishing pole to the ground as he stood up.

"Where are you going?" Sasuke asked as he watched his brother turn around.

"Home. Fishing is no fun."

Sarada ran up to her uncle as she grabbed his hand to place something in his palm. Itachi looked down. It was a small magnetic fish. The eye of the fish stared back at him.

"Yay, you caught a fish!" Sarada giggled.

Itachi smiled as he scooped Sarada up. "I caught the biggest fish of all."

Sarada pout. "I'm not a fish. I'm a fisherman!"

"You can be a mermaid."

Sasuke smiled as he gathered up the rest of the equipment and followed behind them.

As they reached the top of the steps, Itachi turned suddenly to Sasuke. "You go on ahead. I am going to make a short detour."

Sasuke began to open his mouth to say something but Itachi was already walking away with Sarada in his arms. Sasuke sighed as he turned in the other direction to go back home. Sakura should be returning shortly from her shift at the hospital.

* * *

"You're back!" Sakura chirped as she kissed Sasuke on the cheek as he stepped inside the house. She glanced down at the fishing equipment in his hands. "Ah, I see you went fishing with Itachi. Where is he? He said he was going to bring home a fish for dinner. Did you catch any big ones?"

Sasuke smirked. "Was that what he said?" he asked.

"Yes, he came by the hospital during my shift and mentioned something about fishing with you."

Sasuke nodded. "Ah, well he's out with Sarada now. I think they'll be back shortly."

Sakura nodded as she went back to the kitchen to prepare for the "fish" dinner. Sasuke shook his head as he watched his wife's retreating back. "How are you going to explain this to Sakura, nii-san?" he muttered under his breath.

* * *

Itachi walked into the fish market as Sarada held tightly onto his hand.

"What are we doing?" Sarada asked as she swung her blue pail back and forth in her other hand.

"We're going fishing," Itachi replied as he walked towards one of the stalls with the large fish tanks in front.

"Fishing? Again? But Papa took the fishing poles home."

Itachi nodded as he crouched down in front of one of the tanks. "Shh, Sara-chan. Don't tell Mama that we came here today. I'm going to catch a fish for our dinner tonight."

Sarada set her pail down on the ground as she crossed her arms. "That's lying uncle Itachi! Mama said we should never lie."

Itachi glanced over at his niece. "You're right. But I'm really going to catch one. Watch!" he said as he pointed to the tank. Itachi stood up as he exchanged glances with the stall owner. He held up a hand and asked if he could personally pick out the fish on his own. The owner said nothing as she eyed the young man and his determined gaze before slowly nodded and gesturing towards Itachi to just go ahead with whatever he was planning to do.

Itachi stared at the tank as the tomoe in his eyes swirled to show the activated Sharingan. He zoned in on one of the fishes in the tank that was exceptionally large and darting around the tank at a fast pace. Quickly, with a swift move of his right arm, he dunked it into the tank as he grabbed onto the fish he was eyeing. He held it up triumphantly as Sarada gaped in surprise.

Slowly, Sarada clapped for her uncle as she realized that her uncle did indeed catch a fish. Straight from the tank.

The stall owner stared in awe as she held up a plastic bag for Itachi to drop the fish in. Itachi glanced around and spotted the blue pail on the ground. He quickly let the fish go into the pail. The pail would be more convincing of telling the story of how he went "fishing" and brought home a large fish. He scooped up some water from the fish tank as he filled the pail part way.

As he paid the lady, Sarada stared at the fish in the pail. The fish flopped up and down as it splashed in the water. Sarada smiled as Itachi picked up the pail with his right hand.

"Let's go home Sarada," he said as he took Sarada's hand in his other hand.

As they arrived back at the house, Sarada ran into the kitchen to yell out loudly, "Uncle caught the biggest fish in the whole wide world!"

Itachi smiled as he followed behind Sarada with the blue pail in his hand.

"Oh my!" Sakura exclaimed as she peered into the bucket to see a large fish still trying to jump excitedly out of the bucket. "I didn't think you would get one this big! For your first time fishing too!"

Sasuke glanced up from the book he was reading as he arched an eyebrow at his brother. Sarada began to excitedly ask her mother questions about the fish as the two went over to the kitchen counter.

Itachi turned to go back out into the hallway but Sasuke went to follow after him.

"You went to the fish market, didn't you?" Sasuke accused in a low whisper as to not attract the hearing of Sakura.

Itachi only smiled. "Fishing is simple, dear brother. You just have to know the right place to go."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "If only you went there first so we didn't have to sit out on the dock like two idiots for the whole afternoon."


	4. Birthday Cake

**Sunny Side Up  
**by Diana-san

**Author's Note:** For xchrispx, I have thought about a birthday cake story but decided to make it for Sakura so that Sasuke can join in the baking fun.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto.

* * *

**04\. Birthday Cake**

"Sakura's birthday is coming up," Sasuke murmured to himself as he glanced at the calendar. He had just return from a week long mission and was resting now that he was back home. Sakura was still at the hospital working and Sasuke had come home to see his brother playing with Sarada in the living room.

"Papa! Come join our tea party!" Sarada cried out happily as she ran over to her father and proceeded to drag him from the kitchen to the living room.

"What are you wearing?" Sasuke asked as he saw the spectacle in front of him.

One of Sakura's sun hats was draped on top of Itachi's head and he was pretend sipping from a tea cup in his right hand.

"Nice of you to join us, little brother," was the only reply from Itachi as he set the cup down properly on the matching saucer.

Sasuke groaned as Sarada proceeded to put a plastic tiara on top of Sasuke's head. "You can match with me Papa!" Sarada said with a smile as she pointed to a similar tiara on top of her own head. Sasuke couldn't help but notice that Sarada's tiara was bigger than his.

Sasuke sat down across from his brother as Sarada came to his side to pour him a fake cup of tea.

"Sarada, mama's birthday is tomorrow. What should we do for her?" Sasuke asked as he glanced at his daughter. His hand subconsciously went for the teacup as he picked it up and brought it close to his lips before realizing that there wasn't actually any tea inside.

Sarada blinked her eyes as she reached over to grab at the plastic pieces of cake on the table. "Cake?" she asked as she held it out on the palm of her hand.

Sasuke and Itachi both glanced at the piece of cake in Sarada's hand.

"Let's bake a cake for Sakura," Itachi murmured. He stood up abruptly and the sun hat that was perching on his head fell down in a fell swoop.

Sarada glanced up in surprise. "No more tea party?" she asked.

"Sara-chan, wouldn't baking be more fun?" Itachi asked as he picked up his niece in his arms.

"I don't want you to burn the house down," Sasuke said with a sigh.

"Can we have strawberries on it?" Sarada asked.

Itachi nodded. "Of course. Lots of them."

"And chocolate?"

Itachi nodded again. "Yes, we can't forget about the chocolate."

Sarada smiled. "And dango! Mama loves dango!"

"Um, we shall see. I don't know if that will taste very good on cakes."

"Dangooooo!"

"Very well. We shall have that too."

Sasuke was worried. Knowing Sarada, she would probably try to put all her favorite foods on the cake and insist that mama would like them too. He kept quiet though as he followed behind Itachi.

For the first hour, the three of them had managed to bake a cake with the ingredients in the house. Sakura had always kept a full pantry stocked with everything that was needed to feed the family of three as well as Naruto's family whenever Naruto decided upon himself to visit. Sasuke had whisked together the flour and eggs along with the rest of the ingredients as Itachi prepared the strawberry frosting.

Sarada had been watching Itachi as she stuck her finger into the bowl to taste test the frosting to make sure it was sweet enough.

After the cake was baked to a golden perfection according to Itachi's standards, the three of them worked on frosting the entire cake.

Itachi carefully placed the strawberries on top of the cake in a perfect alignment around the center as Sasuke worked on writing "happy birthday" on a piece of white chocolate he broke off from a package.

"Dango?" Sarada asked as she watched her dad and uncle decorate the cake.

"Oh…right," Sasuke uttered a few moments later as he finished the piping of the chocolate letterings onto the white chocolate piece.

Sarada lifted up a jar of goldfish crackers she was eating from. "Mama likes fish," Sarada commented as she dangled an uneaten goldfish cracker on top of the cake.

Itachi's face twitched as he watched the goldfish cracker fall slowly from Sarada's hand and land precisely in the center of the cake. The head was lodged inside the frosting as the tail jutted out in a taunt to Itachi's perfected cake.

Sarada smiled some more as she reached into the jar to grab a fistful more of goldfish crackers before sprinkling them on top of the cake.

Sasuke sighed as he stared at the cake. '_I'm not eating that.'_

* * *

"Surprise!" the whole room shouted as Naruto popped a confetti popper into the air.

Sakura laughed as she stepped into the house with her husband and daughter in tow. The three of them had ate out at a lavish restaurant for dinner and had now just returned to a surprise birthday party.

"Happy birthday," Sasuke murmured as he kissed Sakura on the side of her cheek. Sarada, who was perched on top of Sasuke's shoulders, bent down to also kiss Sakura on top of the head.

Sakura thanked everyone as she surveyed the room. All of her close friends were present as well as her former sensei and shishou. Sasuke lowered to one knee as he placed Sarada down on the ground. Out of nowhere, Boruto and Inojin popped up from behind the couch as they ran to greet Sarada.

The lights suddenly went out as a cake appeared with a single candle glowing in the center.

"Make a wish," Itachi said as everyone sang happy birthday.

Sakura blew out the candle and everyone clapped as the lights went back on. Itachi placed the cake on the living room table as the kids crowded around the cake.

"Why are there pretzel sticks sticking out of the cake?" Inojin asked as he stared at the cake.

"Ooh, goldfish crackers! My favorite!" Boruto exclaimed as he leaned over to pick one up and popped it in his mouth.

Sarada smiled as she tugged on her mother's dress. "I helped make the cake. With uncle Itachi and Papa!"

Sakura nodded and smiled as she glanced at the two said names. They returned an apologetic smile as Sakura glanced at the cake. Ino began to slice the cake up and serve them on plates.

"Thank you Sara-chan. Mama is very happy," Sakura said as she tousled her daughter's hair.

"I wanted to put dango but Papa forgot to buy some!" Sarada continued on as she picked up a plate with a slice of cake. That slice had the white chocolate on it and also what appeared to be extra goldfish crackers around the top. Sarada handed it to her mom and watched in anticipation for the first bite.

Sakura took the offer and lifted the chocolate up as she bit into it.

"You have to eat the cake mama! Not just the chocolate!" Sarada insisted.

Sakura nodded as she glanced warily at the goldfish crackers.

"And don't forget to get the crackers!"

Sakura glanced at Sasuke as her eyes locked with Sasuke's and saw how he averted his gaze from her. She smiled. "Mama loves Papa a lot so she will let Papa have the first bite."

Sasuke sighed as Sakura stuck the fork in his mouth and he could taste the salty goldfish crackers mixed in with strawberry frosting on top of vanilla cake.

Sakura giggled as she saw a bit of strawberry frosting at the corner of Sasuke's lips. Quickly, she kissed him as she licked the frosting off.

Sasuke smiled as he swallowed down the rest of the cake. For some reason, it didn't taste that bad.


	5. Tomato Soup

**Sunny Side Up  
**by Diana-san

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto.

* * *

**05\. Tomato Soup**

"Uncle Itachi!" Sarada yelled out as she ran into the living room.

Itachi glanced up from the cookbook he was reading. "What's the matter Sara-chan?"

"Papa is coming home today from his mission! Let's make him something!"

Itachi smiled. "What should we make him then?"

"Umm, I don't know. Papa really likes tomatoes. Mama helps Papa grow them in the vegetable garden."

"Should we make something using tomatoes then?"

Sarada nods. "I'll go get some more!"

Itachi got up. "Wait, Sara-chan." But it was too late as Sarada had already disappeared from the living room and scampered off out to the backyard. She came back five minutes later into the house, pulling a toy wheelbarrow full of ripe tomatoes.

Itachi gaped at the wheelbarrow. "Sara-chan… did you happen to pick the whole garden?"

"I didn't know how much you needed. Plus, Papa really likes tomatoes so better safe than sorry."

"I don't know how your papa will feel when he sees the garden," Itachi murmurs quietly to himself.

Sarada began to pull out tomatoes one by one as she stacked them on the kitchen table. "I was thinking to myself about what to make while I was in the garden. Maybe pasta! With lots of tomato sauce. Or pizza! With lots of tomato sauce! Or something else with…"

"Lots of tomato sauce," Itachi finished for her. "I think we can do something simple since he will return home soon. How about tomato soup?"

"Okay!"

"I'll chop and you'll mash," Itachi directed as he began to slice up the tomatoes at an impressive speed. Sarada was not one to be upstaged and she quickly got onto her stool in order to see the counter and begin stirring the pot.

"More!" Sarada demanded as Itachi threw in more chopped tomatoes into the pot. The kitchen was beginning to smell wonderful as the scent of onions and butter melted with the new aroma of tomatoes being added in.

Itachi poured in sugar and chicken stock into the pot as Sarada continued to stir. He handed the black pepper grinder to Sarada as she sprinkled freshly grounded black pepper into the soup.

"Cream, basil, parsley," Itachi muttered to himself as he diligently measured the exact amounts for the soup.

"Stir, stir, stir!" Sarada chanted to herself as she continued to spin the wooden spatula inside the pot.

"Perfect! You can stop stirring now," Itachi said with a nod as he observed his niece. "It'll be ready soon," he said as he picked up Sarada from the stool.

* * *

Sasuke entered the house to a heavenly aroma of tomatoes. He sniffed the air as he walked into the kitchen.

"Papa!" Sarada yelled out as she saw her papa enter the kitchen. She jumped out of her seat as she ran to hug him. "Come, come. We made you tomato soup!"

Itachi smiled as Sasuke sat down across from him. "Welcome home, little brother. How was the mission?"

"It went well," Sasuke replied as he picked up a spoon and glanced down at the soup. "Did you go shopping earlier with Sarada to buy ingredients for this?"

"No, we had everything we needed in the house."

"Everything?" Sasuke echoed.

"I picked it myself!" Sarada said proudly as she took a spoonful of soup.

Sasuke got up from his seat as he ran out to the garden. He was aghast at the sight. His beautiful tomato patch looked like a small tornado had pass through with the roots pulled up and patches of holes in the soil. The green leaves were strewn about the small tomato patch and Sasuke could hear his own heart break into tiny pieces.

Itachi came up behind him. "Sorry, Sarada got a little carried away," Itachi said softly.

Sasuke sighed. "Well, where are the rest of the tomatoes? Surely, you couldn't have used it all for the soup."

Itachi said nothing as he turned his head to the side.

"You didn't…" Sasuke choked out.

"Sorry, I got a little carried away while we were cooking. I may have used them all," Itachi replied.

Sasuke ran back into the house as he glanced at the kitchen counters. The cooking board was soaked in tomato juice and chunks of tomatoes laid side by side with the tomato stems. It looked like a war zone soaked in the blood of the tomatoes.

He closed his eyes as he tried to think of his happy place. He brought one hand to his chest as he clutched at his heart.

"Papa, your soup is getting cold!" Sarada exclaimed as she came up to him to tug at his cloak.

"A-ah," Sasuke replied weakly as he opened his eyes and went back to his seat at the kitchen table. He slowly picked up his spoon as he force-fed himself. The soup was delicious but he couldn't help but feel bitter when remembering that the soup was at the cost of his homegrown tomatoes.

"Is it good, Papa?" Sarada asked as she looked up at him with her big innocent doe-eyes.

"Ah," he replied. He couldn't be upset. After all, his little girl had put him in her thoughts.

* * *

Later that night, Sasuke was found hunched over his tomato garden as he tried to clean up the mess that Sarada had created in the morning.

"Sasuke-kun?"

Sakura walked out of the house in her light pink bathrobe as she huddled near her husband. "You've been out here for thirty minutes. Shouldn't you just leave it until tomorrow morning?"

Sasuke sighed. "I don't think I will sleep well tonight unless I clean this up now."

"Are you still upset about what Sara-chan did?"

"No."

"Then are you upset with Itachi-san?"

"No."

"Then what is it, Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke sighed. "I don't know. I just can't believe all the tomatoes are gone."

"I can go to the store tomorrow morning to buy some fresh tomatoes for you," Sakura said with a smile.

"It's not the same."

Sakura glanced around the garden as she got up. She walked over to a spot in the backyard as she stooped over to pick up something from the ground. "Oh, it looks like one of the tomatoes must have fallen off from Sarada's wheelbarrow when she picked everything."

Sasuke's ears perked up as he ran over to see. Sakura opened up her hand to reveal a ripe tomato sitting against the palm of her hand.

Sasuke smiled as he took the tomato.

"I have been growing the same kind of tomato ever since you got pregnant with Sarada," he said.

Sakura tilted her head to the side in confusion.

"I always saved the seeds so that it would be the same each time. This tomato here is exactly like the ones you ate while pregnant."

Sakura smiled. "No wonder. Sarada does seem to prefer the ones from home rather than the store-bought ones."

"We better keep this one safe from Itachi's hands," Sasuke murmured as he pulled his wife closer for a hug. Sakura smiled as the two of them walked back inside the house with the tomato in hand.


End file.
